Akunmu
'Akunmu '''is the major and dominant religion of most of the Cold Shores, except for Wyrmrest Isle and Citadel, where Ouroboros and the Cult of the Hydra are both practiced. It is practiced by all nations of peoples in the Cold Shores, save for the Velu peoples and the Juts peoples. The language used for this religion is the High Okal dialect of the Okal language. As like much of the Cold Shores, Akunmu is divided amongst ethnic lines, as there is no single leader of all Akunmu believers. Instead, each group has its own leader, claiming to be the true head of the faith. Beliefs Akunmu's beliefs lie in the ancestor worship of the indigenous folk religion, Auaq, although it is in many ways very different from Auaq. For example, it is a monotheistic religion; believers worship one god, who is so holy that mortals are prohibited from reading or writing his true name. Instead, they use the placeholder character ß. Also, instead of directly worshiping this deity, as they see themselves as unworthy, believers worship a pantheon of saints, mostly ancestors and heroes of the past, a concept borrowed from Auaq. Leaders There is no single leader of the Akunmu faith, although each nation has its own regional leader who would claim to be the true head, because of the fractured nature of the Cold Shores. The leaders are as follows: * High Priest Grigory, who resides in Khramgorod, is the leader of Cura followers. * Holy Father Jayek, who resides in Sunrise City, is the leader of both the Tihr Akunmu followers and the University of St. Jonas. * Grand Master Jacques, who resides in Walochia, is the leader of the Knights of St. Roland, a high ranking group of soldiers who take orders directly from the Emperor - essentially the most important religious and military leader of the Suno peoples. Saints Saints are the most readily available idols of Akunmu, and are regarded as patrons, mostly of places. The following is a short list of important saints. * '''St. Olaf '- arguably the most important saint, St. Olaf was a Tihr King, who defeated the invading Suno peoples at the Battle of Tevarin, effectively ending the Sunic Wars and starting a golden age for the Tihr peoples. * 'St. Faarn '- one of the earliest saints, St. Faarn was also a Tihr, who founded Sunrise City, and guided the fledgling city to prosperity. * 'St. Igaluq '- one of the most divisive saints in Akunmu. St Igaluq was a former Auaq shaman, who converted to Akunmu and helped the Suno peoples take Hänse during their war of conquest by effectively handing the city over, allowing the Inuk peoples who inhabited it to be slaughtered. * 'St. Weyland '- a major Suno saint, notable for helping to found the city of Rhinube, as he was the rich Suno prince who funded the expedition to Werland to gather supplies (inadvertently encroaching upon Tihr territory) as well as leading the Suno in many successful battles against the Tihr as their first leader. * 'St. Roland '- the patron of Walochia, St. Roland was a warrior-priest, and St. Weyland's most trusted general. It is because of him that the Suno were able to defend the city of Walochia from the Tihr, as he led a valiant charge against them, forcing them back across the bridge to Tevarin, where sadly, St. Roland was valiantly killed in battle by King Olaf himself. * 'St. Cole '- a minor saint, St. Cole was a Tihr shipbuilder, who invented a shipbuilding method that allowed for winter sailing in the frigid Freezing Sea. * 'St. Oskar '- a very old saint, it is unknown if he was even real or not. All records of him were burned along with the rest of Oskarheim during the Sunic Wars, but he was still chosen again as the patron of New Oskarheim. * 'St. Jonas '- another minor local saint, St. Jonas was born in Hvalur and as a child was known for being inquisitive and smart. During his adulthood, he moved to Sunrise City, where he stationed his laboratory and built the University that bears his name today. During the Sunic Wars, he was enlisted into the Tihr Army's Engineer Corps, where his inventions helped turn the tides of many sieges and saved many soldiers' lives. * 'St. Alcuin '- a local legend of sorts, St. Alcuin was born in Mount Kyrah, and grew up hearing stories of the horrible chimera that lived in the mountain's peak. He served valiantly during the Sunic Wars, and returned home a hero. However, the chimera remained. St. Alcuin pledged his life to defeating the awful beast, and so he did - although his end of the bargain was upheld as well. * 'St. Sigmund '- another local legend, it is said that St. Sigmund is the guardian of the north wind, and he protects Far Fjord from the inhospitable weather that surrounds the town. * 'St. Wilhelm '- a merchant in life, St. Wilhelm is said to have traveled all four corners of the earth, and brought the knowledge back to South Landing. * 'St. Pyotr '- a newer saint, St. Pyotr was a Cura miner in Zastavagorod, who discovered coal in the nearby caves of what became Shakhtagorod. * 'St. Maksimillian '- a folk hero from the motherland, St. Maksimillian is the patron of Zastavagorod because he is an ancestor of Grand Prince Vladimir. * 'St. Fyodor '- a former Cura High Priest, St. Fyodor is recognized for his exceptional faith.